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Three Kids Later, I Still Love My Body—But On Different Terms

As a mom of three, it's not that I don't notice my flaws; it's just that they don't matter.

This is my body today: Rumpled against the warmth of my husband's chest, thwacked awake at 2 a.m. by a flailing daughter's limb.

Or ... balanced on wedge heels, bent over a desk, one arm around a student's shoulder.

Or ... crouched in the corner of a gymnastics gym, one hand clutching the video camera, my voice loud: "Go, baby! Go!"

Or ... biting into my husband's shoulder, hoisted against the tiled shower wall, a giggle escaping as a child bangs on the locked bathroom door.

Five years and a third baby after I wrote this article about finding confidence in my post-baby figure, I realize that the journey to loving my body doesn't start at the mall. (Although a trip to TJ Maxx is always cathartic.) When I look at my body in the mirror, I still see beauty, but now on different terms.

After giving birth to two daughters in quick succession, I thanked my stretch marks for helping me accommodate such precious cargo, bought a slew of better-fitting bras, and ditched the daily yoga pant get-up. I gained peace with my body back then by feeling gratitude for what it had done — made babies, helped feed them, etc. Keep reading...

10. On Kim Kardashian's legacy:

"Kate Upton ain't Marilyn Monroe. Kim is Marilyn Monroe, you know that. She was controversial. She is controversial."

Photo: Twitter

9. On what Kim Kardashian has to offer:

"In my industry, beauty is a talent. You know, 'What is she talented at?' She's talented at being beautiful."

Photo: Twitter

8. On what Kim wanted in a man:

"There's times when I wasn't with [Kim], I wanted to be with her so bad I thought about taking up sports."

Photo: Twitter

7. On Kim Kardashian's global influence:

"There's no way Kim Kardashian shouldn't be on the cover of Vogue. She's like the most intriguing woman right now. She's got Barbara Walters calling her like every day ... and collectively we're the most influential with clothing. No one is looking at what [President] Obama is wearing. Michelle Obama cannot Instagram a pic like what my girl Instagrammed the other day."

Photo: Instagram

6. On turning her into his Barbie doll and making her over:

"She just needed to be given some platforms of information to work from. One beautiful thing is that as she discovers it, the world discovers it. For her to take that risk in front of the world, it just shows you how much she loves me."

Photo: Instagram

5. On how we all just don't get it:

"People are so, so dated and not modern. It's like, there's no way Kim Kardashian shouldn’t have a star on the Walk of Fame."